How You're Working Miracles

Georgina Miranda was just looking for a new haircut. The 27-year-old L.A. real estate developer started paging through Glamour last August in search of a long-hair alternative--but soon found herself deep into a piece about women in the Congo who have been brutally raped during that country's civil war. "I couldn't go to sleep that night," says Georgina. "I couldn't believe this crisis had been going on for so long...and I wanted to help."

That's exactly what she's doing: As this issue hits newsstands, Georgina is embarking on a mission to climb the world's eight highest mountains, a project she hopes will raise $2.2 million. The money will provide lifesaving care to women and children in the Congo and Uganda through the International Medical Corps; sponsors have pledged $50 for every meter Georgina climbs, starting with Russia's Mount Elbrus this month. "My friends and family were a little concerned; growing up, I was not a top athlete by any means," she admits. "But my husband was like, 'Of course you're going to do that'--when I get something in my head, I just do it."

When I heard about Georgina's trip, I was impressed, humbled, but not surprised, because there are so many fierce, fabulous Georginas out there--women who, when they hear that the world has a problem, assume that, naturally, they should be the ones to fix it. Two of them, Mary Cady Ford and Kathie Rabasco, discovered the problem they wanted to fix while reading these pages. And they're just the ones who wrote to us.

I'm not bragging on Glamour here; the motivation to do good can come from anywhere, anytime. But if we somehow managed to inspire a great act of kindness--hey, we'll take that. And if we inspire a great haircut? We'll take that, too.